In conversation with Trump, Putin urges restraint on North Korea

Putin and Trump had a telephone conversation in the background of tensions on the North Korean issue and cooperation in the Middle East. In the conversation, the two agreed to increase coordination and to ease tensions with Pyongyang.

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation on Tuesday regarding the tensions with North Korea, RIA reported. In the conversation, Putin called upon Trump to demonstrate restraint with Pyongyang and to work to ease tensions between the two sides.

In a conversation described by Moscow as “businesslike and constructive,” the two leaders also discussed the Syrian crisis and agreed to work together to find solutions. They decided to increase the dialogue between US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The two also expressed a desire to fight jointly the War against Terrorism.

“President Trump and President Putin agreed that the suffering in Syria has gone on for far too long and that all parties must do all they can to end the violence,” the White House said. “The conversation was a very good one and included the discussion of safe or de-escalation zones to achieve lasting peace for humanitarian and many other reasons.” The White House said the leaders also agreed to try to set up their first in-person meeting in July on the sidelines of G20 Summit in Germany.